The growth of the Internet, digital media, and peer-to-peer networking have increased the pace and volume of information distribution. Information, such as songs, movies, books, etc. can be made instantly available to a large portion of the modern world, whereas not too long ago the same sort of data/information may have never become easily accessible in many places. There are at least two reasons for this. First, digital media now rivals and often surpasses the price, ease of use, and quality of traditional analog media sources. Second, networking in the information age has essentially connected all corners of the earth.
The ability to easily transmit and share data has opened up markets for retailers and publishers that may not have been typically available in the past. In addition, consumers can now select to receive their data from more sources than ever before. However, the ease with which digital data, and digital media in particular, can be shared, copied, and/or distributed has also led to increased piracy. According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the annual estimated loss due to piracy is tens of billions of dollars worldwide, with a significant portion of that being in the United States alone.
Ultimately, software and digital media piracy results in the loss of tax revenues, jobs, and growth in the software and media industries. In recent years, multiple efforts have been made to reduce the incidents of piracy, including prosecuting offenders and various digital rights management techniques. However, many of these techniques have experienced mixed results, and/or had difficulty gaining acceptance from consumers.